In the traditional television paradigm, programming content is sent as an analogue or digital signal to a viewer's television set via cable, satellite or through the air. The signals are then received, processed and displayed for the viewer to watch on the screen of the television set.
However, with the exoteric spread of portable electronic devices, such as laptop computers, viewers no longer wish to be restricted to watching television via a conventional television set which is, more or less, confined to use in one physical location. Given the desire or need for portability, and the ubiquitous presence of Internet-based technologies within modern computing equipment, the ability to receive IPTV services via computing equipment is becoming increasingly important from both a consumer's (i.e. viewer's) perspective and from the perspective of the service providers who seek to commercialize the opportunities.
Thus, the monopoly of the traditional television paradigm is being eroded and challenged by the development of Internet Television (Internet TV) and Internet Protocol Television (IPTV) technologies.
Internet TV enables a user to select programs from a list and is typically delivered over an IP network in the form of streaming video via a website. The content is embedded into a web page, and accompanying text is typically wrapped around the streaming video which is presented to the viewer within a separate window. In some ways, this presentation style is similar to a newspaper page wherein surrounding text flows around, not over the image, albeit that the static image is replaced by a video component.
By contrast, a typical IPTV system enables delivery of a digital television service to a viewer over a closed network infrastructure. The delivery is performed using Internet Protocol and typically includes a broadband connection. The IPTV system receives and displays the video stream, which has been encoded as a series of Internet Protocol (data) packets. IPTV can be in the form of live TV, but also as stored video—sometimes known as ‘video on demand’ (VOD).
Traditionally, the viewer must use a device known as a set-top box (STB) in conjunction with his/her television set in order to receive and view IPTV. The set top box acts as an interface between the television and the network, decoding the incoming video streaming media, converting it into standard television signals and providing two-way communications over the IP network. It also performs functional processing, such as setting up the connection and quality of service (QoS) with the service node, channel change functionality and user display control. This functionality is achieved via the use of software known as ‘middleware’.
‘Middleware’ is a key component within the IPTV solutions architecture. It is the application software layer that acts as an interface between the user interface and the hardware/operating system (OS) of the STB. Middleware vendors adopt abstraction based strategies to isolate themselves from the underlying hardware.
However, service providers can find it challenging to make the IPTV business model commercially viable due to the (often relatively high) cost of STBs. This is compounded by the linear nature of the cost/functionality line of STBs—the more features or functions the STB is required to posses, the higher the cost of the device. This has prompted IPTV service providers to investigate the possibilities of delivering their services to mass market end user devices (such as personal computers) where the cost of the hardware has already been borne by the end user/viewer. Thus, if standard computing components can be used to mirror and mimic their televisual counterparts (e.g. monitor, CPU, disk used to replace TV, STB, VCR respectively) then functionality can be maintained whilst eliminating the cost and inconvenience of a required STB.
In order to receive IPTV services and view them on other devices, such as a personal or laptop computer, there is a need, therefore, for the computer itself to perform the functional processing discussed above in relation to the STBs used with televisions.
Thus, there is a need for a system which provides the seamless delivery of IPTV services to an alternative device such as a computer. Ideally, such a system would be arranged and configured such that it can be integrated with existing IPTV technologies. This integration work is required, primarily, in 3 areas:                1) Video delivery: the solution must be based on standard broadcast technologies, and not those which have emerged in relation to web-based (Internet TV) services. This is because of the difference in viewing experiences discussed above, primarily in the segregation of text and moving images.        2) Conditional Access (CA): service providers require a means of controlling and managing access to the services. Subscribers may opt for varying levels of service, and thus access to the content must be controlled via a conditional access system. This is typically implemented via the use of virtual or traditional hardware ‘smart cards’ used in conjunction with STBs. Ideally such a system is managed from a single installation of the customer's CA head-end and allows rights to be managed seamlessly over heterogeneous display devices.        3) Middleware: middleware plays a key role in any IPTV system, and determines the presentation layer of most services. The choice of middleware is determined by the viewer's chosen service provider and is typically of a client/server architecture, the client residing on the STB. Typically, middleware includes an application management component, an execution environment, and the ability to access libraries (Application Programming Interfaces—known as APIs) to control the underlying hardware/OS.                    Broadly speaking, known 3rd party middleware can be categorized into two types:                            i) Category I middleware: middleware which is embedded within the Document Object Model (DOM) of a STB's embedded browser. These products use vendor-provided extensions to that environment, in the form of ECMAScript libraries, to control the media management elements of the service and utilize standards based rendering technologies to render their user interfaces—such as HTML & SVG;                ii) Category II middleware: middleware that is written directly on top of the low-level APIs (typically implemented in languages such as C or C++) provided by the STB vendors to control the media management elements of the service and typically utilize proprietary based rendering technologies to render their user interfaces.                                                
Both approaches suffer from the problem that the STB vendor provided APIs (both ECMAScript and C/C++) are not standardized and, therefore, each middleware vendor must perform a ‘porting’ exercise each time a new STB is to be added to their portfolio of supported end user devices.
Another problematic area facing would-be computer-based IPTV systems is that most known IPTV systems are designed to deliver IP encapsulated MPEG-2/4 content at 2 to 4 Mbps to users on multicast enabled networks. To date, the general lack of multicast support within large portions of the available networks restricts the number of potential target clients. There are several commercial and technical factors in existence, which remain barriers to the effective delivery of these services.
End users of television services are typically unconcerned with the underlying delivery mechanism employed to deliver the picture to their device (e.g. DTT, IP etc.). However, they are concerned about the quality of the content which they wish to view and the ease of use with which they access that optimal-quality content.
Therefore, a preferred solution should be capable of presenting a high quality service and consistent navigational paradigm to the viewer, whilst (behind the scenes) detecting, selecting and presenting the best quality programming possible based upon the current position of the viewer's device within the network (regardless of multicast support).
In other words, the solution should incorporate a dynamic video source selection (DVSS) mechanism, such that the user is provided with a single experience, of optimal quality on any network.
Known solutions attempt to address some of these difficulties, although they typically involve considerable expense from the service provider to effectively create a parallel distribution mechanism (encoding, encryption, delivery, middleware integration, device integration etc.), and typically provide a different viewing experience (in terms of presentation style and format, navigational interfaces etc.) from that which the viewer would expect from a traditional television based service.
In addition, many proposed solutions focus on how to deliver IPTV content to an end user, rather than how to process and/or display that content once it has been received at the client end, or how to improve/replace the technology employed at the client end.
For example, EP1895777 A1 discloses a method of providing an IPTV service to a subscriber, and a network element for executing said method. This is achieved by introducing an additional tier (an ‘intertwine’ tier) into the traditional 3 tiered IPTV architecture. This intertwine tier comprises IPTV service routers and a communication network, thus enabling provision of an IPTV service between different networks which may belong to different operators and/or be installed in different countries. Thus, the invention adds roaming functionality to the existing IPTV service.
However, the method and element disclosed in EP1895777 A1 do not enable a subscriber to receive and display ITPV content on an alternative device, such as a computer. Instead, the disclosed invention provides an alternative architecture for delivery of the programming content to the subscriber and does not address the issues discussed above concerning the technology employed at the client end.
Similarly, WO 2008/045384 A2 discloses an IPTV transport architecture with double layer encryption and bulk decryption. The disclosed invention is designed to operate in accordance with a client's traditional television/STB combination, and does not provide a means of presenting the programming content on an alternative device.
A number of systems are known in relation to STB simulation, for the purpose of testing constrained, isolated aspects of IPTV service delivery.
For example, the invention disclosed in EP 1914940 A1 provides a test apparatus for assessing the quality of an IPTV service, and to locate and repair malfunctions. The test apparatus accesses the IPTV network (from a central office) as a simulation of the user's STB, receives and analyses channel information and media contents downloaded from the IPTV network, and then generates test results. This obviates the need for an operator to enter the user's premises and perform the test routine using manual test apparatus. Thus, the STB simulation performed by the disclosed invention is limited such that it only simulates the way in which the STB presents itself to the network and receives information from the network. It does not present a fully operable STB emulation system which could be used to replace a user's STB and television and present the received content to the viewer. Thus, it does not provide a means of performing all the functions required and expected of a physical STB.
Similarly, US 2002/0026637 A1 discloses a computer program which allows a personal computer to emulate the functions of various STBs so that a combined video and an enhanced content stream can be displayed and randomly accessed to ensure that a desired layout is achieved with respect to the displayed content. The program is designed to facilitate quick and easy checking of the quality of the content presentation, with modification to the combined content stream being permitted during the checks if required. Thus, only one aspect of a traditional STB functionality is addressed by the disclosed invention, which does not provide a complete, alternative system for use in presenting IPTV content to an end user. The disclosed invention provides a means of pre-viewing video and interactive content by a producer rather than presenting a complete service to a user.
Neither US 2002/0026637 A1 nor EP 1914940 A1 address the problem of integrating different forms of existing middleware products with a STB emulation system. Neither do they include simulation components to support or emulate other traditionally required functions such as conditional access and other network management functions.
Thus it is an object of the invention to provide a means for receiving IPTV services on a user's device such as (but not exclusively) a personal computer, and presenting the IPTV content on the device, such that the viewer enjoys continuity of programming service regardless of his/her physical location or the underlying hardware/software platform of the device.
Thus, it is an object of the invention to provide a system and method for the simulation of a physical STB, and to enable standard computing components to mirror and mimic their televisual counterparts (e.g. monitor, CPU, disk→TV, STB, VCR).
It is an object of the invention to provide a solution which can be easily integrated with known IPTV technologies.
It is a further object of the invention to maintain substantially the same viewing experience as that experienced by a user when receiving and viewing televisual services via traditional (i.e. television plus physical STB) or alternative technologies. In other words, the content, navigational paradigm, presentation and quality of service must be substantially the same as those enjoyed by users of traditional IPTV systems.
It is a further object of the invention to provide a means of receiving and presenting said IPTV service such that 3rd party category I or category II middleware, designed for execution by a physical STB, can execute in its usual manner and provide the same functionality on the viewer's computer without modification. The maintained functionality will typically include the ability to perform presentation layer rendering, video blending and multi-media control, and the provision of User Interfaces.
Thus, it is an object of the invention to provide a virtual STB application environment which not only emulates the underlying hardware capabilities of a physical STB (e.g. video scaling, video positioning, chroma keying, alpha blending, UI layout, Remote Control key handling etc.) but also provides the same software environment in terms of available APIs and libraries such that 3rd party middleware is able to execute in this environment without modification.
It is a further object of the invention to provide a Conditional Access (CA) mechanism such that a service provider is able to control and manage the user's ability to access the programming content, said mechanism being easy to deliver and manage from a network/provider's perspective.
It is a further object of the invention to provide an IPTV system wherein the system is resource efficient (especially in respect of CPU usage and memory).
It is a further object of the invention to provide an IPTV system for receiving and presenting IPTV services on a user's device such that dynamic video source selection (DVSS) is achieved, wherein the system is able to determine and acquire the optimal quality programming possible based on the current position of the user's device within the network. It is preferred that this source selection is achieved dynamically, without the need for explicit input from the user.
Thus, the present invention provides a means of eliminating or alleviating at least one of the above identified problems, and achieving at least one of the above identified objectives.